Are you a teacher blogger? Or do your students blog? I’m guessing one of your biggest obstacles to doing as much on your blog as you would like is time.

When we’ve surveyed our Edublogs community about their biggest obstacle to blogging, the results were clear. Time is a barrier for everyone!

This post outlines a simple approach that will see you develop consistency with your blogging and publish one blog post a week.

Whether you’re a teacher or a student, you can use this plan to reach your blogging goals, without sitting at your computer for hours on end.

Sound good? Let’s take a look!

Blog In Your Head

Before we dive into our weekly outline, consider using the time you’re not at your computer to do something productive and ponder blogging ideas.

Blog in your head? Really?

You might think you can only blog when you’re sitting at a device but in fact, you can blog anywhere/anytime.

Many regular bloggers note that even when they’re not at their computer, they’re thinking of ideas for posts or even coming up with phrases or layouts. Personally, I do this all the time!

To reach your blogging goals, try to make a conscious effort to put some thought into your blog during your downtime: driving, standing in line at the store, folding laundry and so on.

Using your “white space” well can nourish your creativity and imagination!

In the classroom setting, I’ve often enjoyed taking my class for a 10 minute walk around the school grounds to give them time to think. Maybe it would work for your students and help them with idea generation.

Then write down your ideas…

We know how easy it is for thoughts to come and go so make sure you have a strategy for getting those great ideas jotted down. This might be on a Google Doc/Sheet, in a notebook, or in a Note on your phone.

Tip: Most professional bloggers have some sort of editorial calendar. Often this is just a calendar in Google Sheets where you plan out your blog titles and dates. This could really help you stay organized and prioritize your blog.

We know all teachers work hard to ensure every student and member of their community is catered for, but creating accessible web content might not be something you’ve ever considered.

In order for your class blog to be valuable, it must be accessible to all students. This includes individuals with visual impairments or disabilities that require them to use a screen reader or other assistive technologies.

Fortunately, there are a few strategies you can implement to make creating accessible content for your class blog straightforward. By formatting and structuring your posts with these tips in mind, you’ll make them more available and useful to all your students.

In this article, we’ll explain the importance of accessibility in content creation. Then, we’ll provide seven techniques educators can use to make their class blog content useful for all readers, regardless of ability.

Let’s get into it!

The Importance Of Creating Accessible Web Content

Web accessibility refers to sites that everyone – including users with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments or disabilities – can access and use.

Creating content that’s available to all establishes inclusiveness and makes it easier for any user to navigate the web.

By creating your class blog with accessibility in mind, you increase the number of students and other visitors who can read, understand, and interact with it. Not only does this provide more meaningful user experiences, but it can also result in better design. And for those hoping to generate more traffic to their site, it can help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Put simply, failing to make your web content accessible can result in legal ramifications. In fact, studies have found that the number of ADA accessibility-related lawsuits in the US were up almost 200 percent last year.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) outlines Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) that serve as a foundation for most laws established by countries and states. Under this guidance, web content – including your class blog – must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Helping your own students realize that accessibility matters is also very important. Knowing how to create high quality content is an excellent skill for students to develop. Ensuring that content is accessible is essential.